Stuffy Noses
by Meruhen Wind
Summary: Because prodigies, especially Uchiha ones, don't get stuffy noses. A childish Sasuke x Hinata story.
1. Stuffy Noses

Author's Note: Formerly a one-shot. Personally, I think it stands better by itself, but...oh well.

...based on the fact that when the perfect kid at my school got sick, everyone reacted.

* * *

Geniuses such as the Uchiha prodigy didn't get sick. It's a proven fact. They certainly didn't get stuffy noses, that's for sure. There are brinks of normalcy that geniuses can reach-but a stuffy nose is taking it way too far. I mean, sure, geniuses breathe and eat (kind of like humans, once you think about it...) but they never EVER get stuffy noses. That would be a level of weakness and indignity that they would never stoop down to. And of course, if they had stuffy noses, they couldn't very well get on with their jobs of being seriously moody and cold-mindedly proficient, right?

Uchiha Sasuke had a stuffy nose.

Which meant one thing: he was far ickier and more statistically unhygienic than he had ever been before.

Which, in turn, meant one thing: his female classmates were falling over themselves to get near him. Which sounded weird, Sasuke thought, unless he added the 'try to heal him and seal their precious bond with Sasuke' part. How _meaningless. Especially when I probably caught my cold from one of them._

"Hey!" the pink-haired loudmouth (Sakura, he thought) yelled. "Look at Naruto!"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto was the only other person in the classroom with a cold.

"I bet HE'S the one who got our beloved Sasuke sick!" the blonde-haired loudmouth (Ino, right?) shouted.

Trained warrior that he was, Sasuke was nonetheless terrified by the homicidal burning in her eyes. And with good reason too, if Naruto's yells of pain afterwards were any indication.

But the outraged fan-girls finally left Naruto alone. _Eventually_. After a half-hour or two of torture.

_Leave Iruka to be absent today,_ Sasuke thought. _But where's that sub, Ka-um…Karashi…no, Kakashi?_

"U-um…Uh…N-Naruto," one of his deskmates, Hinata, spoke suddenly.

"Huh? Oh, hi there, Hinata!" the loser grinned.

"I-I…I n-n-noticed you have a c-cold," Hinata mumbled, rosy blush staining her pale ivory cheeks. _'Wait, where did that poetic mood come from?'_ Sasuke panicked. His fan-girls already thought he was a big enough heartthrob without adding a sensitive side!

"At-CHOO! Yeah, I guess I do," Naruto agreed. _Such a master of conversation_, Sasuke thought dryly. It was rare when Hinata spoke, and he wouldn't have wasted an opportunity to talk to her the way Narutard was wasting his.

"O-oh. R-right. Um…" Hinata trailed off, and glanced at Sasuke timidly.

_Huh? What's she looking MY way for?_ Sasuke pondered confusedly, giving her a well-rehearsed blank stare.

"Huh? Hinata?" Apparently, Naruto was confused too.

"I-I th-th-thought y-y-you might w-want this," Hinata stuttered, bashfully holding out a small medicine container. "F-f-for your c-cold, I m-mean," she added quickly.

"What? For me? THANKS!" Naruto smiled, taking the container gratefully.

Sasuke turned away. _Figures_, he tried to smirk. _She's just another obsessing fan-girl. Although why anyone would look in Naruto's direction, I'll never understand…_

"S-Sasuke?" a frail voice asked him.

"_What_?" he snapped. He was aware that he had a slight nasal tone. He hated stuffy noses…

"I-I-I noticed y-you're s-sick t-too. W-w-would you l-like some m-medicine b-balm?"

"…whad's id do?" Sasuke asked mistrustingly. Sure, he knew a whole lot about weapons and jutsus and whatnot, but his knowledge on medicine was practically nonexistent. Almost…_normal level_, actually. But hey, it's not as if he had any use for that kind of information anyway!

"Y-you rub it o-on y-your nose, a-and it c-clears it up," Hinata explained hesitantly.

"………" _On the one side, this'll fix my stuffy nose. On the other hand, I'm not going to rub my nose in front of the class. I refuse to do anything so…foolish._

"S-Sasuke?"

"Alright. Put id on."

"W-what!" Hinata yelped.

Sasuke smirked. There was the familiar blush again. He could get used to this, actually. "I'm not about to rub id on myself. For one thing, I don't know how id's done."

"M-m-maybe one of o-our c-classmates w-would p-prefer to do it," she offered weakly.

"I'm not about to let one of them touch my face. If you offered your help, you might as well follow through completely," Sasuke maintained.

"O-o-okay," Hinata agreed. Opening the balm container, she rubbed a bit of it on her delicate, slender fingers-_there I go again with the poetry,_ Sasuke thought scoldingly to himself-and leaned towards Sasuke.

"U-um…Sasuke…w-would you mind h-holding still?" Hinata requested.

"I _am_ holding still," he insisted. It wasn't his fault medicine made him fidgety!

Hinata sighed. Using her free hand and blushing, she cupped Sasuke's face to hold said object in place. The Uchiha attempted to ignore the giddiness it gave him.

Smoothly, the Hyuuga's fingers rubbed the balm on his nose. And, amazingly, he felt his nose clear up.

Taking Hinata's hands, he stared at her intently.

"…Is it supposed to tingle when you put it on me?"

Hinata blushed. "U-u-um…I-I s-s-suppose. S-see, the m-medication i-is b-being absorbed by your s-somatosensory s-s-system...so y-your b-brain i-identifies the r-rushing feeling as i-itching…"

"Oh. Okay," Sasuke dismissed it, releasing the Hyuuga's hands.

Of course, it had only been after he released her hands that his skin had stopped tingling…but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Geniuses such as the Uchiha prodigy didn't get schoolboy crushes. But then again…they didn't get stuffy noses either.

* * *

Author's Note: I know it's short...and probably sucks...but please review, even if it's a one-word review! That's the only way I'll get any better... 


	2. Recovery!

Author's Note: Uh…yeah…as to why I'm continuing a ONE shot…the reason is…I can't count. Actually, I haven't written anything in ages…and this kinda flowed out without thinking about it (although that kinda worries me…) Oh! Inspired by an anonymous review left by **kai cham** that made me wonder how the girls would react after the 'incident.'

Based off the fact that the genius in my class was, additionally a bad nurse.

* * *

One thing that is very, very convenient about geniuses is that they never malfunction. And when they do, they repair themselves immediately. So the day after the horrible malfunctioning of the universe that resulted in Uchiha Sasuke's cold, the twelve-year-old Avenger (with a capital "A" that made it sound more dramatic) was sitting in his seat, fully recovered from his one-day stuffy nose.

And all of it was due to the help of the amazing new patented Hinata treatment! Well, Sasuke wasn't sure about the patented part. Or new. After all, Naruto had been sick before lots of times, and that meant Hinata had given the dobe the same healing ointment dozens of times…

* * *

Absentmindedly, Sasuke noticed that he had broken his pencil into two neat halves. Oh well. Genius prodigies were allowed to be wasteful, weren't they?

* * *

Considering the number of stares he got from the class, apparently not. And if the shocked squeals from the girls meant anything, definitely not. Although really, everything Sasuke did made his fan girls scream. Flip a page in the textbook, and "Yay, Sasuke-kun!!!" Still, the class kept staring at him. How annoying.

"Sasuke-kun, is there anything wrong?" Iruka asked.

"Oh! Iruka-sensei, I know why he's angry!" Sakura spoke.

"Really?"

"Yup! I can tell because we're soul mates!"

* * *

Sasuke refused to acknowledge such an absurd statement. For one thing, all the other girls in the class were doing a nice job of denying it for him.

* * *

"He's angry because yesterday, when you were absent and Kakashi-sensei didn't show up, Hinata was rude enough to touch Sasuke's face!"

Sasuke struggled to keep his face emotionless. Don't react, don't react…darn it, he was blushing!

And surprisingly, Naruto saved the day.

* * *

"WHAT? Hinata-chan wouldn't be interested in Sasuke-teme! I know for a fact that she doesn't like anyone!"

_...Idiot._

Ignoring Naruto, Iruka glanced at the Uchiha. "Is that really why you're angry, Sasuke?"

"Pft. I'm just brooding."

"Oh." Brooding was completely acceptable behavior for a genius. Moving on.

Wait a minute. Hinata was absent? 0-0 Maybe she was…sick?

"Wait, Iruka-sensei!"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Hinata's absent. Don'tcha think she might be sick?" Naruto asked worriedly. In the background, Sasuke gave a brief scowl.

"Yes. I'd forgotten about it, but a Hyuga stopped by earlier. Apparently, she's taken sick leave. I guess this means one of you should take her her homework. And flowers, I suppose. After all, Hinata's never been absent from school before. I imagine it must be somewhat depressing for her," Iruka thought aloud.

"So," Iruka continued, "are there any volunteers to go visit Hinata-chan for the class?"

_Ino usually volunteers for arranging this sort of stuff_, Sasuke thought. Unfortunately, Ino was much too busy drawing a picture of what seemed to be a stick figure version of her and Sasuke together with a Hinata left out in the corner to raise her hand. 

Sakura was out, for similar reasons.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he saw Naruto's hand beginning to inch up.

* * *

With a lightning speed, Sasuke raised his own hand up.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun? You want to go visit Hinata-chan?" Iruka asked, vaguely surprised.

"What? Iruka-sensei, don't tell me you're really gonna let Sasuke-teme go visit Hinata-chan! He'd probably make her feel even worse!" Naruto objected.

_Dobe._

"Sasuke-kun raised his hand. It's only fair to let him go, seeing as nobody else volunteered first."

For the second time that class period, Sasuke felt everyone's stares on him. It made sense, too. Geniuses don't get concerned over other people's health.

But maybe, Sasuke thought, glancing at the dobe with a triumphant smirk, it wouldn't be a bad idea to visit the Hyuga manor to see whether his shy classmate was okay.

* * *

Author's Note: Um…this is the part where I'm supposed to ask for reviews, I guess. But then…everyone that reviewed the last chapter was extremely kind, so…I'm pretty satisfied right now. (But again, if you leave even a one-word review, I shall heart you. Which means I now heart over 38 people. :D) 


	3. Of Sunshiney Spirits

Author's Note: Well, I opened my e-mail, and…all the nice reviews made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Which, of course, made me feel out of character and guilty about not updating any of my stories. So I rushed this chapter. I feel miserably unlazy now. XD

* * *

Geniuses don't ever appear outside of school or their house. Well…scratch that. They can appear in lonely forests shrouded by mystery, or at training grounds, perfecting their already nearly perfect technique. In Uchiha Sasuke's case, he was also allowed to visit the Uchiha resting grounds, and, out of necessity, the marketplace. But that was limited to days when his fridge was empty, and only in the evening. That allowed his enigmatic aura to go unscratched. Geniuses, especially the brooding types like Uchiha Sasuke, just didn't go on picnics, field trips, or any other social activities that required sunshiny-ness. 

Uchiha Sasuke was about to make a house call. On a schoolmate. A _female _schoolmate.

The universe had been thrust into chaos.

* * *

Looking very much like an unwilling infant, the twelve-year-old Avenger scuffled slowly through the deserted street that led to the Hyuga compound. 

_I'm sure Hinata isn't really sick. She'll probably be back at school in a day or two. Therefore, visiting her isn't really necessary_, Sasuke argued to himself. All of a sudden, he had a mental image of an extraordinarily pale Hinata in convulsions, tiny hands clutching onto a meager blanket for warmth.

Being a genius with an overactive imagination sucked.

But as much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke had a conscience. Which meant he kept on scuffling through the deserted street.

"SASUKE-SAN!"

Well, almost deserted.

* * *

"How are you doing on this fine day? May I ask how you're planning to exhibit your bountiful youthfulness today?" 

Sasuke twitched. Lee had gotten a little…stranger, to say the least, ever since acquiring a new sensei.

Not knowing how to respond, he opted for the traditional "………"

"But of course! You're going to the Hyuga compound, aren't you?" Lee inferred quickly.

…drat. And what's worse, Sasuke couldn't lie about it. After all, the street led only to the Hyuga manor. "…yes." He said finally.

"Could it be that you are going there to challenge Neji? The number one rookie versus the Hyuga prodigy?" Lee questioned excitedly.

"No."

"Oh. But…we don't know any other Hyuga our age, except…"

Sasuke held his breath.

"Sasuke-san! Is it possible that you are there to…"

Sasuke kept holding his breath.

"Such a thing from you…"

Sasuke was still holding his breath.

"…I would have thought it impossible…"

Still holding breath…

"…but you and Hinata are both youthful, so…"

Lee turned towards Sasuke and gave a thumbs-up sign.

"I give you my support in getting married!!!"

* * *

It was a good thing for Sasuke that geniuses had a remarkable ability when it came to holding breaths. 

It was a bad thing for Lee-kun that they didn't have a sense of humor.

* * *

After a short period of time (ten seconds, to be precise) Sasuke finally thought it necessary to let Lee off. This time. 

As for Lee? He gained a new respect for the legendary Uchiha glare.

"…so…" Lee continued meekly, "…does this mean that you're not heading towards the Hyuga compound to propose to Hinata?"

* * *

Lee had earned a twenty-second Uchiha glare. With a shudder, Lee decided that you definitely did _not_ get used to some scary things. The Uchiha glare was one of them.

* * *

"So what are you visiting her for?" Lee persisted. 

"………she's sick."

"Oh. It's wondrous to see someone visit a sick classmate! It denotes great character and enormous bonds between the two people! Surely, Hinata-chan means a great deal to you?"

Had it been a love story, Sasuke would have taken this moment to look surprised and blush. Fortunately for Sasuke and his self-dignity, true geniuses were hardly ever in love stories. Which meant that instead of wide-open eyes and cherry-stained cheeks, the Uchiha was currently wearing a bored expression and a small frown.

"I was sick yesterday. She helped out, that's all."

"Ah. Well, allow me to give you some advice on how to visit sick classmates."

"That's not necessar-"

"First! You must present the afflicted classmate with the required homework! This ensures that the learning process is not interrupted!" Sasuke held up the textbooks he was carrying, more out of a desire to shut Lee up than an actual response.

"Good! Secondly, you must present the damsel in distress with cheerful items such as flowers or a stuffed animal!" Briefly wondering when Hinata had turned into a damsel in distress, Sasuke held up the small bouquet of flowers that Ino had donated at the last minute towards Hinata.

"Excellent! Lastly, you must approach them with a positive aura and a brilliant smile! You must make them feel as if the sickness can be overcome, and-"

* * *

Uchiha glares were good at shutting people up. Lee should know by now that geniuses and sunshiny social duties did not mix. _

* * *

So why am I going to see Hinata, then? Sasuke asked himself. _

_Because: 1) You might have made her sick. 2) She helped out during your sickness. You can't owe her a favor because of that. 3) If you didn't go see Hinata, the dobe would. Which would probably make her even sicker, and as a result, nobody would be around when you needed another nifty ointment to cure your stuffy nose._

After listing all those reasons, Sasuke decided he didn't like them. So here was the official reason why he, a normally moody, isolated genius, was seeking out the company of a unhygienically sick classmate:

Because he felt like it.

No overly complex reasons. After all, geniuses were pretty much allowed to do as they liked, right?

"Sasuke-san! It appears that we have reached our destination! I'm afraid we shall have to part ways, now, for I must locate Neji and tell him of our team's practice. Good luck cheering up Hinata!"

...good luck, huh? He just might need it.

* * *

Author's Note: Somewhat longer than the second chapter? Hope this was long enough for you guys…personally, I wouldn't want to read any more of a chapter than I had to, but…that's the lazy me talking. XD Anyway. I appreciate all the nice (and non-nice, though I haven't gotten any of those yet…) reviews, even IF they make me act unlazy and out of character. Which is my way of saying I heart all the new reviews and the old ones. 


	4. Simple Equations

Author's Note: …um…I had the basics of this chapter planned pretty much as soon as I finished the third chapter…it just took me awhile to get it all on paper. How "a while" happened to turn into "four months", I'm not entirely sure…

* * *

All geniuses have a strong, calculating mind. They store endless amounts of information, and process it to the best of human abilities. They have a strong sense of self-preservation. Geniuses, especially Uchiha ones, don't make stupid decisions. 

Uchiha Sasuke was currently stepping on Hyuga property, uninvited and unaccompanied. For the first time in his life as an Avenger, Sasuke began to doubt his intelligence.

Somewhere along the lines of being preoccupied with the image of a sick Hinata, he had forgotten a basic equation. What was it again?

* * *

"Hey, you, trespasser! Come here, this instan-hey, it's an Uchiha!" 

"Really? _The_ Uchiha?"

"Yeah. The legal one."

* * *

Ah yes. 

Last non-criminal survivor of the Uchiha + household of Hyuga's equals trouble.

Sasuke controlled the urge to slap himself on the forehead. How could he have overlooked this? Speaking from a purely scientific mind, there were now only three possible outcomes from having come to the Hyuga manor:

a) a duel to the death with at least one of the Hyuga's to determine the elite kekkai genkai: Byakugan or Sharingan

b) a life-threatening encounter with crazed Hyuga medics that would try to surgically remove said Sharingan,

or

c) a never-ending conversation with a group of stuffy Hyuga elders about the long history of the revered Hyuga and the able Uchiha and their influence upon our beloved Konoha (their words, not his.)

* * *

"Uchiha-san! The honour of our dojutsu, the Byakugan, will be defended this very moment!" 

"Amazing! It seems to be a perfectly healthy specimen! What luck! Uchiha-san, would you kindly activate all tomoe?"

"Uchiha-san! It's been a long while since we've met up with one of your clan. Allow us to take some time to reminisce about past days, when your clan was yet as strong as ours…"

* * *

Of course, with his bad luck, it turned out to be d) all of the above. Sasuke mentally corrected his equation. Last non-criminal survivor of the Uchiha + household of Hyuga's _very big _trouble. Underlined. 

Why on earth was he here again?_ "S-sasuke…"_

Ah yes, Hinata. Who was, by the way, crouching near a pile of dirt right now.

Wait…crouching?

Sasuke made his way over to her hurriedly. Why was she bending over, anyway? Was she about to faint? "Are you alright?"

"Mmhmm. I'm almost finished with the-" Hinata stopped short and looked up. "A-ah… w-what are you doing h-here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke, ninja extraordinaire and genius with a large vocabulary, could only blink.

"E-eh…I d-didn't mean to sound rude. W-were you looking for N-neji?"

"No."

"O-oh…Th-then why are-"

"…how come you're outside sitting on dirt?"

"U-um…it's not really dirt, it's my…a-atchoo! U-um…sorry…my g-garden…"

"…you're sick."

"W-well...-sniffle-I guess…"

"Shouldn't you be resting then?"

"But I'm not really too sick…and my g-garden makes me feel b-better…"

"…plants make you feel better?"

"I-I'm sure it sounds s-strange…but…" Hinata blushed.

"…here," Sasuke muttered, holding out the bouquet of flowers.

"U-um…"

"They're from Ino. On behalf of the class, or something. You can look at them inside. So you don't get sicker standing out here."

"Th-that's very kind of you," Hinata thanked him.

"…they're from Ino," Sasuke repeated, impassive expression on his face.

" Oh. Okay. …um…Sasuke? Y-you never answered my first question…did Iruka-sensei make you come because I was sick?"

"…something like that," Sasuke responded with a scowl.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry," Hinata apologized.

"…don't bother."

"Huh?"

"Don't bother apologizing. I don't really mind. 'Sides…didn't I get you sick?"

"…w-well…it's really nice of you to come visit anyway…um…Sasuke…t-thank you," Hinata smiled.

"…Teh."

* * *

Yes, Sasuke was smart enough to know that he should have smiled back brightly, or at least say a heart-meltingly cool 'you're welcome.' 

Unfortunately, despite having a genius intelligence, he was kinda bad at saying more than one syllable at a time. So 'teh' it was.

* * *

"E-eh…i-if y-y-you'd like…" 

"Huh?"

"I-if you'd like, i-it would be o-our honor to h-h-have you for dinner. As a guest, I m-mean. I-it's the least I can do, a-after you bothered to come out here."

"…"

_Remember the basic equation. Uchiha + Hyuuga's equals trouble._

Geniuses like the Uchiha certainly didn't make stupid decisions.

"Um…i-is that a 'no'? I-I understand…if you're w-worried about me getting you sick…"

Although…the nervous blush on Hinata's face really _did_ grow on you after awhile.

"I'll stay."

"G-great! U-um…I g-guess we'll have to wait until dinner's done. D-do you want to see the rest of the gardens, then?"

_Garden?_ Meaning…flowers? As in, those over-smelly, freakishly bright things that girls chucked at him every day? …he didn't like those things, actually. It was one thing to bring Hinata a small bunch of flowers and a completely different thing to walk around smelling 'em.

"S-seeing f-flowers always makes me f-feel better. O-oh…but I guess you wouldn't want to see flowers, right? M-most boys don't…I'm sorry for being so th-thoughtless…" Hinata apologized.

"…"

"U-um…"

"…"

"…?"

"…we're going to go see your garden, right?" Sasuke murmured at last.

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Hinata beamed.

Geniuses like the Uchiha never made stupid decisions.

Promising to walk around a garden when he hated flowers, Sasuke decided, wasn't stupid.

…unfortunately, geniuses like the Uchiha were also bad liars.

Okay, so it _was _stupid.

But then again, it_ had_ made Hinata smile.

…few things in this world were important enough to force Uchiha Sasuke to make stupid decisions.

Hyuuga Hinata's smile, he decided, happened to be one of them.

* * *

Author's Notes: Meh. I felt like humiliating Sasuke in this chapter, so I couldn't resist the urge to make him OOC-ishly sappy.

I'd like your input…and definitely still appreciate any kind of review.


	5. Talent 578

**Author's Note:**

I'm back. Eh, I'd like to thank **Shortshorty, Chibi-Muse-chan, Yumel, Yenni2110, Tigerrelly, emilyjm, Cheerfully Pessimistic, NanamiYatsumaki, kibagaaralover18 **and** inconstant heart,** who reviewed and replied to my questions. I feel better about my writing now. Hinata will keep stuttering, just not that much.

In addition, I'd also like to thank and apologize to **10tative, masaki1, TigerWings, stelmw02, **and **redjjojin**, all of who reviewed while I was away on an incredibly long writer's block mini vacation (okay, so maybe it wasn't that mini.) I owe these guys a review reply which I think is much too overdue to bother writing.

…okay. At this point, I think it'll just be best if I quit talking and start writing. Hope it wasn't too big a wait, right:)

* * *

Uchiha, among other things, were very, very talented. They possessed extremely admirable qualities, such as: the ability to keep a deadpan face even when any normal person would have laughed/smiled/cried/shouted/done something that was undignified and un-geniusy. They also had the natural talent of expressing themselves in short, stiff sounds, such as 'hmph', 'yeah', 'fine', and 'teh', and, when the occasion called for it, make confusing, long, and somewhat angsty life-defining speeches. 

All of this, plus the gift of extreme family and self pride that naturally came from being an Uchiha had always come in handy. And then there was always the fact that he could easily decapitate any mediocre ninja that came along. Yup, there was no doubt about it. Uchiha Sasuke was, without a doubt, very talented.

Not that, of course, any of these wonderful talents came in even the slightest bit useful when it came to walking a Hyuuga heiress around through a garden.

In fact, the twelve year old Genius/Avenger/Survivor of the Uchiha (along with all of those other titles he'd received throughout his short life) was now experiencing sweaty palms, a racing heart beat…and a whole bunch of other stuff he'd been led to believe only happened to his non-genius peers.

…so much for talent.

* * *

"U-um…so…u-uh…we have o-over 500 kinds of f-flowers and herbs here. If you have a f-favorite, I might be able to show it to you," Hinata offered timidly with a small smile. 

As far as Sasuke was concerned, flowers were evil menaces with large dabs of color on them that gave off really strong smell, like cheap perfume. Not that, of course, he was about to point that out to Hinata.

Contrary to popular opinion, social discretion _was_ one of his talents (talent # 53, to be precise) when he chose to use it.

"…whatever you feel like," he mumbled, hands in his pockets.

"Oh…uh, o-okay then. Umm…d'you w-want to see the sakura trees in the courtyard? We-we've had them for over f-fifty years…"

Sasuke cringed. Sakura? There were enough of those annoying petals falling all over town, it being spring and everything. Not to mention, the entire 'cherry' scent reminded him too much of his pink-haired classmate: she practically _reeked_ of the stuff.

"…and they're v-very beautiful when they're i-in bloom…" Hinata said, a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

_Wait…wistfulness?_ Sasuke thought.

Detecting emotion in people's voices, of course, was talent #302.

"Cherry blossoms…do you really like 'em that much?" he asked.

Hinata looked at him, startled.

* * *

"O-of course. Everyone does. Th-they're really pretty and soft and…well…_alive_… everyone remembers them, even after they're gone…" 

"…Alive?" Sasuke asked.

"They're really noticeable. They're headstrong in their de-determination to grow…a-and people w-watch them do so," she explained softly.

"…you mean they're in your face and in your hair, and the petals won't stop falling even though you're sick of the stuff and think they're annoying," Sasuke contradicted.

Hinata looked vaguely hurt at that as well.

"Y-you don't like them?" she questioned.

"…I don't mind. But…I don't think they're everything you crack them up to be."

_And you don't, either, do you, Hinata?_

* * *

Wow. He'd just gotten a new talent. Talent #576: Recognizing when a shy person is lying. 

'Course…he could only do it because...he was really listening.

* * *

"H-how about the hothouse?" she suggested-softly, as if she was afraid it might be the wrong suggestion. 

"…"

"…u-um…don't y-you like that either?" Hinata asked shyly.

"…what's…a…hothouse?" Sasuke asked, face slightly red.

Non-talent # 3: Admitting Uchiha Sasuke doesn't know the meaning of a word.

"Oh! U-um…it's a-a p-place where a sp-special kind of flower grows. I-it's basically re-really hot, but it lets really rare and e-exotic flowers grow there. I-it's also called a greenhouse too."

Well, that sounded interesting.

"What's it look like?" he asked suspiciously.

"The hothouse?"

"No, the flower," Sasuke said, surprised to find himself saying it patiently.

"Oh! There a-are a lot of different kinds of f-flowers there. Th-they're very bright, a-and some of them are bold and h-have large blossoms."

"…so they're strong?"

"U-um…yes, I suppose so."

"What do they need the hothouse for, then?"

"Eh???"

"If they're strong, what do they need the hothouse for?"

"Uh…you see, they're very rare, a-and come from outside th-the country, s-s-so…"

"They can't handle the cold."

"…n-no."

"…"

"They-they're very beautiful, though," Hinata said in their defense.

"Hey, Hinata."

"Y-yeah?"

"If I wasn't here."

"Huh?"

"If I wasn't here, and there wasn't any guest to entertain, what flower would you go visit?"

"I-I d-don't think you'd w-want to see-"

"We've already established the fact that I don't like the type of flowers everyone else likes. I'm pretty sure I won't mind anything else."

"…a-alright," Hinata said. Hesitantly, she veered off the main garden path, walking towards a smaller garden.

* * *

Eyes firmly locked on Hinata's face, Sasuke smirked as he counted off yet another talent. 

_Talent # 578: Making Hyuuga Hinata give an honest-to-goodness smile_.

Halfway into the garden, his smirk turned into a smile.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I know, probably not the best time to be updating. But…I kinda felt guilty for not doing so…eh, I've always had a bad sense of timing.

That said, there was this really interesting review question I got (from **Cogito iMA**) Here it is, below:

"I know Sasuke has a crush on Hinata...is there a real reason for it? So far, it doesn't really seem like anything past "wow, she healed my strangely stuffy nose". It might just be me missing something (I'm horrible at reading between the lines, after all), but I really wanna know."

The answer is…too complex to answer. X D

Actually, I'm a pretty simple writer, so here it is: at the beginning of the story, Sasuke thinks that Hinata's just another fan girl (just one that happens to like Naruto instead of him.) That changes when she gives the medicine that she was gonna give to Naruto to him. So (here comes the cheesy part) the real reason that Sasuke likes Hinata (other than the joy he gets from seeing her blush) is because she was nice to him even though she doesn't "like him".

And then, of course, that gets mixed up with good old rivalry with Naruto and a big ole' heap of denial.

Most of all, though, the real reason for Sasuke's crush is because Hinata is the only girl (at this point) that has been nice to him and expected nothing out of it (AKA a date, white ribbon on White Day, or a marriage proposal).

Just thought I should answer that question.

I'd appreciate it if you guys could leave a review giving me your opinion on the story. Hopefully, I won't go AWOL this time and will actually get to reply to all the reviews.

* * *

And, of course, I was also elated to have 100 reviews in four chapters. All of you guys really are too kind. :) 


	6. Saffron Crocus

**Author's Note:**

Eh. I'm back. I know I said I was gonna update sooner, but that was before my computer and its internet went haywire due to an evil power outage.

Oh. And yeah. For those of you who are wondering where the talent list that used to be Chapter 6 is, it is now in **Stuffy Noses Omake**. I'd like to thank **10tative** for that suggestion and apologize for not writing 'Hidden Leaf Talent Show'. I might get around to that someday…-wistful sigh-

Anyway. On to the story. I particularly apologize for this chapter, since it breaks my promise to keep this story completely 'angst less'. However, since this IS told in Sasuke's point-of-view, I trust none of you are too surprised.

* * *

Geniuses, no matter what, are always very confident. They have complete and utter faith in themselves, down to the nose in the air and stuck-up smirk. Geniuses, particularly one Uchiha Sasuke, could calmly say without a doubt that they were the best at anything that mattered, and that was unarguable. 

For the first time in a long while, Uchiha Sasuke's nose wasn't any higher than a normal boy's, nor was he smirking his trademark arrogant smirk.

Uchiha Sasuke was smiling, and it was all due to one shy, mousy Hyuuga Hinata.

If he would have thought about it, he would have come to the genius conclusion of Chaos Theory and that life made absolutely no sense at this point.

The philosophy of life, however, was the farthest thing from his mind right now.

* * *

"That one?" 

"Y-yes. That flower. I-it's a v-very important part of this h-herb garden."

* * *

Sasuke stared at the plant, taking in as much information about Hinata's plant as he could. 

…it was average sized, and had vague, unremarkable leaves, thin and shapeless.

The only thing that was special about it was…

"It has no petals," Sasuke said flatly, no surprise and no disgust in his voice.

Apparently, by Hinata's very tiny smile, that was the right reaction. 

"N-no," she agreed quietly.

"It gets them later, doesn't it?"

"H-huh?" Hinata asked, startled.

"The flower gets its petals later," Sasuke repeated somewhat impatiently.

"B-but why would you s-say-"

"It doesn't have petals right now even though it's spring but you still called it a flower. You're not a liar, are you, Hinata?"

"…oh. Um…right. It grows them later during fall. I'm s-sorry you have to see it right n-now, b-but it doesn't look p-pretty u-until then," Hinata apologized. "U-um…if you want, I c-can show you t-the o-orchids we have…"

"No. This flower's fine. Why do you like it, anyway?" Sasuke asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"It's a-an herb, f-first of all. Herbs a-are useful, because t-they can be used to m-make a lot of medicine…"

"Do you use that herb often?"

"Yes. It's v-very good as a sedative…a-and it strengths your im-immune system and is g-good for colds."

"…was it in that stuff you gave me yesterday?"

"No, but I put some in Naruto's," Hinata answered with a blush, innocently ignorant of Sasuke's curled fists.

* * *

Geniuses, Sasuke told himself, were _confident_. They certainly did not get _jealous_. Especially. Not. Of. _Dobes_. Definitely not. 

"Um…S-Sasuke. T-thank you.. N-nobody's ever asked b-before. A-about the f-flower's p-petals, I mean," Hinata stammered out with a pleased beam.

With smug satisfaction, Sasuke noticed that the blush on Hinata's face switched from her standard red to a pretty and pale pink when she thanked him.

Yup, Sasuke thought, he had no reason to envy the dobe. Especially when he was _better_ at everything that _mattered._

Such as being thanked by a blushing Hinata.

Not that, of course, he'd ever say it aloud.

* * *

"Oh! I-if you w-want to see the flower…I have its p-petals pressed. U-um…I left it around here somewhere…um…here!" Hinata held out a small book, flipping pages. Stopping at a certain page, she held it somewhat hesitantly towards Sasuke. 

Expecting a glamorous, ugly-duckling-turned-swan kind of flower petal or even plain, everyday petals, Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw the flower petal, taking in the length, the shape. _The color_.

"U-um…it's not v-very interesting, b-but…"

"I like it," Sasuke stammered out, because he couldn't say what was really on his mind.

_Breathtaking_. The petals were a rich lilac, almost pale enough to be clear, but softer and stronger and _better_ than any stronger color could have been.

If he'd had to describe it, Sasuke could only have described it as a _Hinata_ color. The color of her eyes.

"H-huh? T-that makes me glad."

"…you must be good at a lot of things," Sasuke muttered.

"E-eh? N-no, n-n-not r-r-really," Hinata shook her head, face unusually red and voice extremely grateful.

Sasuke didn't say anything.

* * *

If Sasuke would have been Naruto at that time, he probably would have pushed the issue with a roguish smile until Hinata accepted her talents and felt happy. 

Uchiha Sasuke almost wished that he _was_ Naruto. Just as long as he could say something to make Hinata happy. But geniuses happened to be less talented at making sappy, inspirational speeches than dobes were.

Geniuses were only good for certain things. Like, for example being confident. Geniuses in general have complete and utter faith in themselves. Uchiha Sasuke, in particular, had complete and utter faith in one other person, even if he couldn't bring himself to tell them yet:

Hyuuga Hinata.

* * *

Author's Note: Ha! And the story progresses. Sadly enough, this chapter came out very seriously, and as a result, unfunny. I dislike it, but am much too lazy to re-write it at the moment. Oh well. Ah! By the way, because I never specifically named the herb that Hinata showed Sasuke-I guess I should name it right now. Its name is saffron crocus. And beacuse has been kind enough to allow us to download images, you can see the flower on my Bio page. 

Anyway. I'm very happy with the number of reviews this fic has gotten, and appreciate all of you guys who have reviewed. Thank you very much:)


	7. Childhood Memories

**Author's Note**: Um…yeah. I'm sure that you guys have gotten used to the somewhat long pauses between chapters, right? Next chapter won't be up for at least three weeks. Why? Family vacation to remote-place-where-internet-is-still-pretty-rare. Shocker, isn't it? I apologize for that, and shall try to update my other stories before that happens.

That said, has anyone noticed that since Chapter 4, Hinata has been suspiciously un-sick? Not one single sneeze or cough. About that…blame it on the author's lame inconsistency. Or the strong Hyuuga immune system. That, or Hinata is a magical girl and self-healing. Take your pick.

Also, I thank **shozoirie**, **10tative, renoa, maniacal.woman, Kaoru danna, Melodramatic Writer, Ferai, Kurata Mitsuki**, and **Taichi Spirit** for reviewing and making me feel more confident about the less-humorous Chapter 6.

Okay. Moving on to the story!

* * *

Members of the Uchiha clan have, scientifically speaking, had over the clan's history shown to have a wonderful sense of timing. Experts at it, the Uchiha have never performed a jutsu too early or late, and would never do something as humiliating as lose track of time.

Uchiha Sasuke had committed one of the gravest errors in Uchiha history:

He had lost track of time. Although to be perfectly fair, it hadn't been completely his fault; after all, Hyuuga Hinata was a very strong distraction. Still, it was now five minutes to seven, which meant-

"Ah, Sasuke. D-dinner should be ready now. Y-you _are_ staying, r-right?"

_If I leave right now, I can escape while everyone in the household is going to the dinner hall. Nobody will be around to chase me, give me a lecture, challenge me to a fight, or try to take one of my eyes, darn it. The only sane thing for me to do IS leave._

"I hate to b-bother you, but Neji-niisan is t-training u-until midnight w-with his t-team…so it m-means a lot to me th-that a classmate is eating with me," Hinata confessed shyly with a smile.

"Who says I'm staying?"

"B-but y-you s-said…o-oh. R-right. U-um, I understand. I-if you want me t-to, I c-can escort you to the g-gate and-"

"…that was a joke. I'll stay. I promise." It slipped out faster than Sasuke wanted it to, unneeded and involuntary. Darn Hinata and her loneliness. If her clan's crazy behavior with _him_ was any indication, definitely couldn't be entrusted to them.

* * *

If Sasuke would have thought about it, he would have realized that if _he_ couldn't handle being with those Hyuuga alone and _Hinata_ couldn't either, it was a very bad idea to try to handle it _together_.

All of a sudden, he found himself sitting right across Hinata and to Hiashi-sama's right at the dinner table, hailed as a guest of honor.

It was a very good thing that he'd gotten used to having most of his classmate's eyes on him, because otherwise the dozens of Hyuuga eyes on him would have been downright intimidating.

The Uchiha were very observant when it came to time. With what he hoped was a silent gulp, Sasuke realized his situation. Time was up and it was too late to run.

* * *

"So. Sasuke-kun," an old Hyuuga kunoichi murmured with a toothless grin, "Have you finally come back to make do on your clan's promise?"

"What promise?" Sasuke found himself asking cautiously between bites.

"Why, to marry Hinata of course. You two have been engaged since birth, remember?"

* * *

Sasuke and Hinata choked on their food at the same time.

"W-w--w-what?"

"WHAT?"

"T-to m-m-ma-marry S-S-Sasuke-k-kun?"

"Get MARRIED?"

"B-b-but…"

"We're not even-!"

"Of course. You two are the same age, and there certainly aren't any other kekkei genkai clans nearby…" the old lady huffed impatiently.

That certainly didn't help matters.

"WE'RE GETTING MARRIED JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE WEIRD EYE COLORS?"

"N-N-Na-Naru-Naru-I-I-mean-o-our-f-f-feelings aren't-"

"She's only joking. A sick joke, at that. The Hyuuga and the Uchiha would never run the risk of mixing their bloodlines. Especially not where their _heirs_ are concerned," Hiashi-sama scowled, displeased.

* * *

Sasuke felt air seep back into his lungs, only to experience a bit of anger just as quickly. He could marry Hinata if he wanted to, never mind this dumb idea of bloodline traits!

That said, he hurredly added, he definitely _didn't_ want to marry Hinata. Of course not. Girls were still icky, he thought forcedly.

That, and marriage at the age of twelve would seriously cut into his career plans as an Avenger.

* * *

"Ah, Hiashi-sama, I was only testing Sasuke-kun's powers of perception," the old lady continued, grin still plastered on her face.

_Lousy Hyuuga. I KNEW there was a reason the Uchiha broke off,_ Sasuke thought.

"U-um…S-Sasuke-san," Hinata whispered across the table, cheeks still flaming red.

"Yeah?"

"I-I'm v-v-very s-so-sorry about th-this."

"It's fine."

"Honestly, Hinata, it's rude to stutter to such a close comrade," the old lady scolded.

"C-c-close c-comrade?" Hinata asked.

"Yup. You may not remember this, but you and Sasuke-kun here were devoted playmates when you were younger. He gave you quite a few of his dolls and you gave him one of your pet birds."

This time around, Hinata and Sasuke were spared the dangerous reaction of choking and skipped right to the wide open eyes.

"…I'd appreciate it if you'd stop joking during the meal," Sasuke said evenly, teeth clenched. 

"That one wasn't a joke," the old lady cackled with a seemingly straight face. "The bird she gave you was a robin, I believe."

Sasuke's eye twitched. It was definitely not _that_ he was referring to.

"I. Don't. Play. With. _Dolls._"

* * *

After the dinner, more than a few Hyuuga were willing to agree with Rock Lee that the Uchiha glare was very, very scary indeed.

* * *

"Of course you don't. Those dolls are intended for the daughters of the Uchiha clan. They've been passed down through countless generations. If you trace them back far enough, you can even say they're actually Hyuuga property. You gave several of them to my daughters, for which they're both grateful. Isn't that right?" Hiashi prompted.

"Thanks," Hanabi, quiet up till now, muttered.

"U-uh, ri-right!" Hinata answered hesitantly. "Th-they r-really are…v-very p-pretty," she added thankfully.

"You're very welcome, Hinata-san," Sasuke said politely. _Although I don't remember anything about it, _he mused to himself. _Probably happened when I was small._

"Why so formal? You two have always been the best of playmates!" This, of course, came from the only apparently loud and boisterous voice at the table.

* * *

For the first time in his life, Sasuke thanked fate for making his Hyuuga classmates quiet and not annoyingly-loud/long-winded/scientifically-crazy/or-anything-else-the-Hyuuga-had-to-be.Sourly picking at his food, he settled in for what promised to be a very long dinner.

* * *

"Um…Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"T-thank you very much f-for staying for dinner. Y-you d-didn't really h-have to-"

"Welcome."

"-a-and you d-didn't want to, but you s-still did. Um…c-can I ask why?"

"…no."

"O-oh. Okay."

* * *

Sasuke had a thousand reasons he could have given Hinata, none of which seemed to fit. He could only conclude that he, Uchiha Sasuke, had a masochistic streak.

It was either that or another reason, the one that he wouldn't confess out loud in a million billion years.

The Uchiha were complete experts when it came to observing time. And as alarming and embarrassing as it was, Uchiha Sasuke grudgingly admitted it to himself as he walked back to his empty home.

He enjoyed spending time, as awkward and embarrassing as it could be, with Hyuuga Hinata.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Because there's nothing that screams 'true love' like meddlesome family members and embarrassing moments. Or something along those lines. Neh. I couldn't resist writing in the 'bloodline engagement' cliche. I've always wanted to write it and this'll probably be the closest I'll get. I'll probably end up writing a one-shot on that "Sasuke gives Hinata his unwanted doll" memory. That said, I can't promise I will.

Anyway. The entire week's been full of thunderstorms and power outages, so please make my rainy day and review. Thank you very much. :)


	8. Team Seven

**Author's Note**: After two weeks of vacationing, I return with one chapter. Not too bad, right? Unfortunately, this chapter isn't too interesting. But I promise that it all leads somewhere! Where exactly IS somewhere? Ah, that, you will find out later. And by later, I regretfully mean the end of this chapter. :)

* * *

Geniuses have the distinct characteristic of being wholy and completely impartial to normal people. Geniuses go through life with enviable detachment. Possessing a brilliant mind, they are above such petty things as affection and preference. In short, geniuses don't have a most hated person and they certainly don't have a favorite one.

That said, Uchiha Sasuke was very pleased to see that one Hyuuga Hinata was back in her seat, fully recovered. Noticing him, Hinata turned and gave him a shy, uncertain smile. Very subtly, Sasuke felt himself smiling back.

"Hey, Hinata, why are you and Sasuke-kun smiling at each other?" Sakura asked, half jealous, half bewildered.

"Huh? Oh, u-um, hi Sakura. I-I w-was about to thank S-Sasuke for g-giving me my homework. A-ah, Ino, thanks for the flowers yesterday. They were v-very lovely," Hinata said, turning around and facing Ino. Left alone with a prodding Sakura and another eager girl or two, Sasuke felt more than a little grumbly that Hinata's smile had disappeared.

N-not that he _favored _her smile. After all, Uchiha Sasuke was a genius.

Eyes skirting the page of an age-old textbook, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as Iruka entered the classroom and started the class.

* * *

"As you all know, one of the most important things for a ninja to know is attacking with stealth. While higher-ranking missions require higher expertise, this week we will be learning one of the most basic methods of hurting your opponent using stealth. this particular method is famous for being a non-direct, somewhat long-distance attack. Does anybody know what it is?"

That's easy, Sasuke thought idly, staring off into the wall disinterestedly. Poison.

"Poison!" Sakura exclaimed, hand flying into the air.

"That's right, Sakura. Though it's quite useless in higher-ranking missions. Hinata!"

"Uh, y-yes?"

"Could you name a few reasons why?"

"R-right."

Hinata gulped and Sasuke felt a slight twinge-no, it definitely _couldn't_ be sympathy-as he realized Hinata was nervous. It was pointless, he thought, for her to be worried about one of Iruka's questions, because they were all obvious and easy and simple and...

"U-um, in order to poison someone, you have to have gotten near enough to i-inject it into their b-body, either by n-needle or by putting it in their f-food. You also run the risk of an antidote, i-immunity by b-bloodline or acquired immunity."

...and any idiot with a half a brain could answer them, so it really was stupid of her to worry so much about it...

"Right. Good job, Hinata."

Uchiha Sasuke had never been more relieved that the right answer had been given.

* * *

"Even though poisoning is one of the most ineffective procedures out there," Iruka continued, "it's a ninja basic. You guys will have to learn basic poisoning identifying and concealing procedures."

"Aw, but Iruka-sensei, that's boring!" Naruto complained loudly.

Rubbing his throbbing ear, Sasuke wondered idly whether the dobe had ever discovered the concept of volume.

"Poisoning. Boring. Not really," Sasuke muttered casually.

The dobe turned around, a challenge already in his face. "Why not? I bet you can't think of a single reason why it'd be interesting!"

"It'd be interesting," Sasuke drawled, "because I'd see you sick. After all, a dead-last like you can't tell the difference between poison and food."

"Moron! That's not a good reason at all!"

"Maybe not to a dead _last_."

"Why you-"

"That's enough. Naruto, I'm planning on making the poison unit as interesting as possible-"

"-how are you going to do _that_, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked.

Iruka sighed. "There's food involved."

"Cool!"

Sasuke made no attempt to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the dobe.

"It'll be a class picnic. The plan is to assign you into teams of three. Each team will be expected to turn out a basket of normal, poison-free food after school today."

"Excuse me, sensei, but how is a picnic supposed to help us master poisoning?" Sakura questioned.

"Inside the basket of normal food, you guys will place four food items that contain non-lethal amounts of poison that I will hand out. The difficulty in this assignment is to cook the food yourselves and to disguise the poisoned food among the normal one. Whichever team gets the most people to eat their poisoned food without detecting it at tomorrow's picnic wins."

Smart, Sasuke thought. The food had to either completely cover or compliment the flavor of the poison for it to escape detection. Theoretically, that'd be easy-just make all of the food taste equally as terrible. But if it tasted terrible, nobody would want to eat the normal food, much less the poisoned one.

It was an interesting project alright. Almost interesting enough to interest the completely impartial, completely detached Uchiha Sasuke. Almost.

Between Sasuke thinking about the assignment and his not-caring about it, Iruka had begun to assign teams.

"-ru. Team 6: Ino, Sakura and Shino-"

Poor Shino. Sasuke didn't know him personally, but he had nothing against him. That said, Sasuke thanked the powers that be that he was at least free from working with those two girls. Any team he landed on _had_ to be better than _that_.

"-and Team 7: Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata."

...Never mind.

* * *

Team 7. Him and _Naruto_.

Gripping his pencil tightly, Sasuke reminded himself that geniuses were impartial and did NOT have classmates they hated the most. The attention would have been wasted on the dobe, anyway.

Team 7. Him and _Hinata_.

Gripping his pencil equally as tightly, Sasuke also reminded himself that if geniuses did not have most-hated classmates, having a classmate that they liked a heck of a lot more than the rest was completely out of the question.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, I'm glad we're working together," Naruto called out to Hinata after class was over, flashing a grin.

"U-u-u-uh, y-yes. Me t-too," Hinata answered, blushing a flaming red and beaming.

"I'm sure Hinata and I will manage to finish the project even having you on our team," Sasuke interrupted the conversation calmly, a darker tone in his voice than usual.

"You've got to be kidding! Me and Hinata are the ones who have to put up with _you_, right, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"U-u-um, I-I-"

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah! Tell him, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata did what any girl would do when a pair of blue, blue eyes and coal-black ones were fixed intently on her:

She fainted.

The project had gotten very _interesting_, Sasuke thought, his eyes showing what anybody would label as complete and utter boredom. Great. Just _great_.

* * *

Author's Note: Now that the 'Sasuke goes to the Hyuuga compound' mini-story is over, I'm left with a sense of shock over the fact that what I originally intended to be a one-shot turned into eight full-fledged chapters, albeit short ones. Me being a lazy person, the thought of having done that much work scares me. I place the blame entirely on my wonderful reviewers and all of you guys that encouraged me to keep writing this thing.

Oh, and to the anonymous **moonlightangel: **don't sweat it. I'm not perfect, and that means I have to learn to take criticism. So I don't hate you, and I'll try to follow your advice. (:

Again, I apologize for the plainness of this chapter, but hope the next chapter makes up for it. What exactly is the next chapter?

In which an unconscious Hinata is left alone with Sasuke and Naruto.

Any reviews are, as always, appreciated.


	9. When Hyuugas Faint

Chapter Title: _When Hyuugas faint_

Author's Note: Not that long a wait, right? That's because I'm ecstatic that this fic actually got 200 reviews. Hope this chapter makes up for the classroom lecture feel of the last one. Although I sincerely thank those of you who, surprisingly enough, actually liked it. (:

* * *

Ninja prodigies had minds that could sum up situations in milliseconds. They understood the consequences of all possible actions and quickly judged the best plan to take. Prodigies, and Uchiha Sasuke in particular, always knew what to do in any situation, no matter what. 

"Hinata, are you alright?" Naruto asked concernedly, poking Hinata none too gently.

_Situation: On a team with a fainted Hyuuga Hinata and a poking Uzumaki Naruto._

_Plan: Pick on the dobe_.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "She's out cold, you idiot."

"I know THAT!" Naruto protested angrily. "What are we gonna do, then?"

Sasuke sighed. "We might as well carry her to wherever we're going to cook," he suggested practically.

"Fine then. We're going to my apartment!"

"No," Sasuke objected.

"Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"I refuse to go to the pigsty you call a home."

"Jerk! You don't know a single thing about how my house looks!"

"Let me guess," Sasuke smirked, "Your bed is the same hideous shade orange as your jumpsuit, only it has green and yellow stains all over it. Your floor's probably covered in dirty clothes from last month, and your kitchen sink is filled to the brim with empty noodle cups and mismatching chopsticks. As for your refrigerator, it's probably empty except for month-old spoiled food because you keep forgetting to go shopping. Am I right?"

"Grrr...arrogant jerk!"

"I have better things to do than go to such a place."

"Then where are we going?"

_Not the Hyuuga compound_, Sasuke thought. Yesterday was plenty. Hanging around with crazy fourth-cousins wasn't a good plan if you wanted to keep your sanity.

_Situation: Needing to choose a house with a kitchen to work in._

_Options: the dobe's , Hinata's dysfunctional family, or his own mysterious, albeit fairly normal compound._

_Decision:_ "My house," Sasuke said with a sigh.

"What? No way! Your house is probably worse than mine anyway! Let's go to Hinata's house!"

"Do YOU want to explain why the girl on whom the clan's hopes of leadership rests on has fainted, or should I?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"...idiot. If Hiashi sees Hinata's fainted, he'll kill us."

"Is that bad?"

"Think Neji with a jounin status and serious parenting issues."

"...Oh."

* * *

"My place is better!" Naruto insisted for the twentieth time in a row. 

"I'm not going there," Sasuke insisted, arms crossed.

"Well, I'm sure as heck not going to your smelly compound!"

"My 'smelly compound' has a superior kitchen."

"That's a lie! My kitchen is filled with more ramen, so HA!"

"...idiot."

"Jerk!"

"_My_ kitchen."

"MINE!"

_Situation: In the middle of a pointless argument with an idiot that has lasted a torturous fifteen minutes already._

_Decision: Not worth it, so…give in._

"Fine. Your house, then. Let's see how long it takes before something horrible goes wrong _there_."

* * *

"Ha! We're here! TOLD you it wasn't as bad as all that!" Naruto declared triumphantly. 

"...There's furry stuff growing on the side of the couch," Sasuke pointed out with an eye-twitch.

"Yeah, it took three whole years before it got that big!"

_Situation: Standing in Naruto's living room, which should, according to all sanitation rules, be labeled as a toxic dump._

_Solution-_

" Hey, where are you going, you jerk?…Hey, wait up!"

* * *

Finally. they were here, at his clean, beautiful _normal_ compound which was definitely not a bacteria-growing plantation like Naruto's. 

"The only reason I came along to such an icky place is because you dragged Hinata-chan here!" Naruto protested as he caught up.

Sasuke blinked. "Whatever."

"I still don't see why poor Hinata-chan had to be carried by a jerk like _you_. I'm surprised you didn't drop her!"

"Unlike _you_," Sasuke smirked, "_I_ know how to do things _right_."

"Hey, take that back! I would have done a much better job of carrying Hinata-chan. She would have liked it better too!"

Sasuke saw a brief flash of red before he regained composure. "_Please_. There's no way in blazes _you_ could have carried her."

"Are you calling Hinata fat?"

"No, you _idiot_, I'm calling you a weakling."

"Shows what _you_ know! Besides, you're not so strong yourself. Your face has been red almost since you started carrying her. Maybe you should train more so you don't tired so quickly!" Naruto laughed obliviously.

"...idiot."

"Jerk!"

It was then that Sasuke noticed a slight problem. "Naruto. Open the door," he said finally.

Naruto snorted. "Why don't you just give Hinata to me and _you_ open the door?"

"Fat chance. _I'm_ carrying Hinata," Sasuke growled lowly.

"What did you say?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Just open the door, dead last."

"Grrr!"

"...the sooner Hinata can rest comfortably, the better for her," Sasuke explained, tone a shade gentler.

"...why do _you _care?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

_Situation: Embarrassing question._

_Plan:_ _Go with the standard procedure-give a flat-out lie._

"...I don't. It's just that as soon as Hinata wakes up, we can start working on the project and the sooner I can kick you both out of my house. It's not like I _care _about her or anything."

"Hey, teme, your face is getting even redder! Fine, I'll open the door before you collapse from exhaustion, haha!"

Sasuke briefly wondered whether he should slap Naruto for his stupidity or breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that yes, Naruto _was_ as stupid as he looked.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto looked concernedly at the girl who had slept on the couch for a full 3 hours already. 

"Hey, jerk?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, idiot?" Sasuke responded, putting the nickname in automatically as well. Neither of them took their eyes off Hinata.

"...is Hinata-chan okay?"

"Of course she is, dobe. She just fainted, that's all," Sasuke said calmly, masking his worry.

"But is she gonna be _alright_?"

"Idiot. I'll make sure she is."

Sasuke wasn't sure who he was re-assuring, Naruto or himself.

The answer seemed to satisfy Naruto. "Well," he asked casually, "what are we supposed to do now?"

Sasuke sighed. "Just go get the food ready while I stay here and take care of Hinata."

"No way! Hinata-chan can't be trusted to the likes of you! Besides, it's _your _kitchen so _you_ go put out the ingredients!" _Of course_, Sasuke thought. _The idiot has to start making sense at the worst time possible._

_Situation: Being forced to leave Hinata alone with Naruto while he got the food ready._

_Plan: ….um…_

With what could only be classified as fate-working-against-Naruto, Hinata chose that particular moment to reach out in her unawake state and grab Sasuke's arm.

Sasuke flashed arrogant smirk #3, reserved for only the rarest occasions, at Naruto.

"Can't get up now," he boasted. "After all, we don't want to disturb Hinata while she's recovering."

"Huh? Lucky jerk. You just want to stick me with all the work! Well, I'm not moving either!" Naruto hissed, sitting down with a defiant _plop_.

"Suit yourself, then," Sasuke said, secretly glad that the dobe had decided to stay.

After all, even _if_ prodigies knew what to do in virtually _any_ situation…staying alone with a Hyuuga heiress that happens to have fainted and looks as if she's peacefully asleep was too much.

Not even he, Uchiha Sasuke would have known what to do, he admitted with a faint blush.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Likey? No likey? I'd like to know how badly I did, so please review! (: 

Ah, I'd also like to thank **BlackButterfly **for their review. (Imagine that, getting a review from a fellow lazy person!) Sorry for Hinata's not waking up in this chapter. Although I promise Naruto's the first person she'll see when she _does_ wake up, though.

Next Chapter: Team 7 starts baking!

---

"No."

"B-but Sasuke, it's for sanitation purpos-"

"...I'm NOT wearing that apron."

"Mah, if Sasuke-jerk won't do it, I won't either!" Naruto said, throwing his own colorful apron off.

Very quietly, Hinata sighed.

---

Or something like that. I still have to plan it out.(:


	10. Getting to Know You

**Author's Note: **Sorry to take so long updating. This is the last week I have before my summer vacation ends, so I figured I might as well update when possible.

As for why I haven't updated…I've had a new baby cousin to take care of:) Babies are complicated creatures!

Anyway. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Geniuses are patient, even if they don't show it. They work well in a team. They adjust, and they learn things about their teammates that help them bond. Geniuses, in short, are very quick to interact with their teammates.

Uchiha Sasuke was an excellent example of this.

"Seven?"

"Go fish."

"Drat! You sure you're not cheating, jerk?"

"You make fidgety noises when you've got a card I want, that's all."

"Do not!"

"Do too."

"Anyway, this is boring!"

"You didn't want to learn poker," Sasuke said with a shrug.

Well, he _would_ have been quick to interact with his teammates, had one of them not fainted three hours ago. Although he was strangely getting used to seeing Hinata out cold, he nonetheless wished the girl would wake up. Naruto only needed one pair to catch up and tie him in this dumb card game.

Lo and behold, the Hyuuga _did_ start fluttering her eyelids. Just as Sasuke fell off his seat with surprise and relief, Naruto leaned eagerly towards Hinata.

Too close.

The first thing Hinata saw when she opened her eyes was a bored, card-holding Naruto.

Not good.

"N-N-Naru-Na-Naru-"

"Hey, Sasuke, why's Hinata turning-?"

With a growl, Sasuke pushed Naruto towards the living room corner. The dobe being safely out of the blushing Hyuuga's personal boundaries, he turned and faced Hinata. "You fainted. Naruto and I carried you here to my compound. It's 5:21 P.M. Start cooking."

"I-isn't it supposed to be a g-group effort?"

"Yeah, that's right. I'll help you Hinata!"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto. Near an oven. Near _his_ oven. Not going to happen. "Stay away from my oven," he scowled, eyes narrowing.

"Huh? What's your problem this time, jerk?"

"This house is over one hundred years old. The last thing I want is for you to burn it down because of your cooking."

"I won't burn anything!" Naruto protested.

"Easy enough to say, but a dobe like you would definitely-"

"Y-you're an expert in that Fire Extinguishing Jutsu, right, Sasuke?" Hinata added in meekly.

"…Fine. I guess the dobe can cook then."

* * *

"Right. The first thing we need to do is figure out what we're gonna cook," Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

Two pairs of eyes stared at him blankly.

He sighed. "The first poison Iruka-sensei assigned is famous for its sweet flavor, so we'll have to have good dessert. The second is pretty mild, so we can cook anything there. As for the third, we should probably go with onigiri. Preferably with fish filling."

A lightbulb went off in Naruto's head.

"Hey, no FAIR! You're just saying that because that's your favorite food!"

"No. I'm saying that because it's easy to make and we don't have that much time." _That, and it's delicious._

"I wanna make ramen!" Naruto interrupted

"You don't even know how to!"

"Sure I do! You open the cup, add some water, and stick it in the microwave, so ha!"

Sasuke's eye twitched.

"We're _not_ making instant ramen."

"Why not? It's way better than rice balls!"

"The flavor's too commercial and therefore recognizable. The poison'd stick out like a sore thumb," Sasuke explained. The dobe was really dense at times.

"Ramen's a better picnic food than rice balls. _Right_, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, appealing to the up-till-now silent Hinata.

"U-um…"

"Are you really gonna risk the grade that way?" Sasuke asked, a bit more annoyance in his voice than necessary.

"W-well…"

"I _refuse_ to show up with instant ramen."

"Ramen makes people happiest, right Hinata?"

"S-S-Sasuke-kun-said-the-second-food-could-be-anything-we-want-and-I-really-want-to-do-ramen-please," Hinata stuttered quickly.

"It'd be a B at most," Sasuke scowled.

"Alright! A B! We're all set!" Naruto cheered.

"U-um…I know how to c-cook ramen a l-little…so it'd be b-better than instant, a-and y-you wouldn't mess up your p-perfect A record, Sasuke. P-please?"

"Ramen cooked by a twelve year old girl in a twelve year old boy's kitchen. …Whatever."

"Alright! You're the best, Hinata-chan!" Naruto whooped, hugging Hinata.

Watching Hinata's smiling face grow alarmingly redder and redder, Sasuke had a sudden urge to punch Naruto.

"U-um…thanks Sasuke," she managed to squeak out. Ah, that was better, Sasuke thought with a smirk, until he noticed exactly _how_ red Hinata's face was getting. That couldn't be-

Thud!

-good. Ouch.

"Hey, jerk, why'd Hinata faint again? All I did was hug her!"

"…idiot."

Geniuses were good teammates because they adapted.

Sasuke made a mental note to stock up on smelling salts whenever partnership when Hinata became necessary.

"…Hinata?"

"…darn it, stop poking her, you moron!"

Mental Note #2: Stock up on aspirin for dobe-induced headaches while he was at it.

* * *

"No."

"B-but Sasuke, it's for sanitation purpos-"

"...I'm NOT wearing that apron."

"Mah, if Sasuke-jerk won't do it, I won't either!" Naruto said, throwing his own colorful apron off.

Very quietly, Hinata sighed.

"I-If you don't put it on, your c-clan's shirt might get dirty," she hinted shyly.

"It has ruffles," Sasuke mumbled out.

"Haha, Sasuke-_chan_ has to wear a frilly apron!" Naruto grinned.

"I'm not wearing such a girly apron," Sasuke scowled.

"I-I'm sure y-you'll still l-look quite m-manly no m-matter what," Hinata said, throwing him a sincere look.

…

…

…

"Fine," Sasuke relented, throwing the apron around his waist carelessly and trying to ignore the warm feeling in his stomach that came with Hinata's words.

"Great. Now the hairnets," Hinata said softly.

"Hairnets?" Sasuke and Naruto chorused, eyes widening.

"W-we could use plain bandanas i-instead," Hinata offered with a weak smile.

Geniuses are quick to learn things about their teammates.

_Hinata Talent #482: Getting boys to put on aprons._

"Hey, These bandanas are softer than I expected. Thanks, Hinata-chan!"

…and she was also good at making them put on bandanas too.

* * *

"U-um, how is t-this?" Hinata asked, holding out her first batch worriedly.

Sasuke frowned as he tasted it. "To be honest, it's good, but a little-"

"Wow, Hinata-chan! This tastes AWESOME! You ought to go into the business!"

"T-thank you v-v-v-very m-much, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata beamed.

"Not nearly good enough. The poison's sweet, but it's also a bit dry. You'll need to adjust the taste accordingly. I think a little more honey added to the red bean paste will do it."

"O-oh. Alright, then," Hinata said, a little crestfallen.

"Don't listen to him, Hinata, you're doing great!"

"Thanks, Naruto-k-k-kun!"

* * *

"Hey, Hinata."

"Yes?"

"Pass me the seaweed."

"Aren't I closer to the seaweed, jerk?"

"Yeah."

"And isn't Hinata all the way over _there_?"

"Yeah."

"Then why does Hinata have to pass it?"

"Because you have ramen-y hands," Sasuke blurted.

Naruto's eyes squinted shrewdly. "That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard of," he said scornfully.

"…"

"Ramen-y hands make it taste better!"

Geniuses are quick to learn things about their teammates.

_Naruto Talent #06: Being a much bigger idiot than people gave him credit for._

Although since Hinata ended up passing the seaweed anyway while the dobe was off on a rant, Sasuke wasn't complaining too much.

* * *

"Ahh, man, this is the 32nd batch already! When are you gonna be happy with it?" Naruto complained with a yawn.

Sasuke frowned and popped the sweet into his mouth.

He hated this type of sweet bread, anpan with red bean paste…but this one tasted…okay.

And no, the fact that this one was made by Hinata had _nothing_ to do with it. _Really_.

The fact that he hadn't tasted a single trace of poison on this one wasn't something he'd admit easily either.

"…that'll do," he said, keeping his face blank.

"Really?" Hinata asked, pleasant surprise on her face.

"Yeah. The rest of the food's good to go too. We're done," Sasuke said.

"Finally! I'm leaving! See ya, Hinata-chan," Naruto shouted before running off.

"B-bye, Naruto!" Hinata shouted back, cheeks flaming red.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Ah, S-Sasuke…thanks for giving me a-advice about the food," Hinata nodded.

"Mmm."

Geniuses are patient, even if they don't show it. They work well in a team.

"Hey, Hinata."

"Y-yeah?"

"You really like red bean paste, don't you?"

"Y-yes."

"You don't cook it half-bad."

"T-t-thanks."

They adjust, and they learn things about their teammates that help them bond.

"See you later then. I wouldn't mind working with you again."

"M-me neither. U-um, see you later."

Geniuses, in short, are very quick to interact with their teammates.

When the teammate is Hinata, anyway.

* * *

Author's Note:

Okay. For the next chapter, I wanna write down a scenario I've been thinking about for a while. The only thing is…it involves the dramatic, serious, non-funny Sasuhina that this series is famous for not having. That said, I'm not sure you guys would like it. I also have another chapter in mind, though, that's a bit more light-hearted but not as…flow-y, I guess. So. Me being terrible at making decisions, I leave the choice up to you.

Would you guys absolutely _hate_ it if there's one serious chapter? If you do, I won't write it…I'd hate to kill the fic's style, after all.

Anyway. Please let me know whether you think I write the serious chapter or not. Or if you're just as lazy as I am, please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter anyway.

Next Chapter Preview: 1.) In which Sasuke walks Hinata home after the project! Or 2.) In which the picnic starts!

Reviews, as you know, are always appreciated. :)


	11. Normal Day

Author's Note: I'm back. - Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to write this somewhat serious-er chapter and gave me advice.

Um...I don't want to scare you all by saying 'the end is near', but...the end is near. For this story, anyway. - After all, having a story that just goes on and on is kind of a scary thought for a lazy author like me. So…yeah. Just wanted to throw out that warning.

So, um…next chapter will be the last one for the fic. I've got a pretty good idea of how it'll end, so…yeah.

* * *

Geniuses were always pragmatic. They had their feet planted firmly on the ground, and they didn't waste time daydreaming or thinking about things too much. Geniuses weren't poetic, and they knew that every day was pretty much the same as any other day-and every day was normal.

"B-bye then."

"Wait."

"Huh?"  
"I'll walk you home," he said in a rush.

For the first time in ages, Hinata's face wasn't alone in its redness-Sasuke's face blushing almost as fiercely.

"T-thanks, b-bu-"

"It's already dark out. You're a member-the _heiress_, in fact-of a rather influential clan. It isn't safe for you to go alone. It's the least I can do for a classmate," Sasuke explained coldly.

Geniuses were always pragmatic. And if that meant walking Hinata home to ensure her safety, well…Sasuke sure wasn't complaining.

* * *

The first thing that Sasuke noted was the awkward silence between them as they walked. He'd never been uncomfortable with not talking, so why was he racking his head for something to ask Hinata?

"S-So…"

"So."

…

…

…

"U-um, w-what's y-your favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Ah, that's nice."

…

…

…

"Yours?"

"Huh? O-oh, blue too."

Sasuke blinked.

"What shade?"

"Oh…u-um, sky blue."

Sasuke had an urge to punch Narut-er, he meant roll his eyes at the fan girl-ness of Hinata's answer. "Lemme guess," he asked roughly. "Your second favorite color is either yellow-blonde or orange." _Those are, after all, the other colors associated with Naruto._

"N-nope. Next is lavender," Hinata answered, a little surprised.

"Why?" Sasuke found himself blurting out with curiosity.

"It reminds me of Neji-niisan and Hanabi-chan."

"Oh," Sasuke said, feeling slightly stupid for no reason. He briefly wondered where dark blue and red were on her favorite color list. Probably at the very bottom.

"Your favorite shade of blue?" Hinata asked politely.

"Dark," he answered without thinking, gesturing to the trademark shade on his shirt.

"What's your second favorite?" Hinata continued.

"…indigo," he admitted with a faint blush.

* * *

"U-um, I'm very sorry," Hinata blurted out after a minute or two of more empty silence.

"What?"

"F-for troubling you so much. I-It must be annoying to walk home a girl y-you don't know o-or c-c-care about…"

Sasuke blinked. He didn't think it was annoying at all, especially now that Narutard wasn't there. As for Hinata, he didn't mind her company-in fact, he found her to be likeable. Very, _very_ likeable. He opened his mouth to tell her as much.

"…p-particularly when it's already d-dark out, and-"

"Hinata."

"-Y-yes?"

"I don't mind."

"R-really?"

"In fact, I…like…taking walks."

"That's nice," Hinata responded with a relieved smile, a little more at ease now.

Sasuke briefly wondered when it was exactly that he'd turned into a coward.

Probably, he thought wryly, at the same time he'd turned into a blushing mess.

"H-hey, Sasuke. I-it's n-nice outside, isn't it?" Hinata smiled as a night breeze blew by.

Sasuke gave a soft grunt, noting with slight pleasure the effect the wind created on Hinata's short hair. Although the best part, he thought, was the moonlight affect on…

Wait a second. Geniuses were pragmatic, and they certainly weren't poetic. More than that, he was a _boy_, darn it, and thinking moonlight shining on a girl was interesting went against everything he'd always believed in! But somehow the moonlight shining off Hinata's face got to him, and the entire affair was nowhere _near_ normalcy. It'd been a while since he'd had a special day.

* * *

"U-um, Sasuke."

"Yeah?"

"D-do you really think my food'll be okay?"

"It's nowhere near restaurant level," Sasuke said bluntly.

"O-oh," Hinata murmured, voice faltering.

* * *

"I-is taking walks your hobby?" Hinata asked timidly after a while.

Sasuke nodded, eyes firmly on the ground.

"W-why?"

"It's nice to be by myself. Gives me room to think."

"You've been taking walks f-for a while, right?"

"Huh?"  
"I remember seeing y-you take walks when your mo-w-when we w-were younger," Hinata finished somewhat nervously.

"When my mother was alive, you mean," he said dully. "She used to take walks with me."

Hinata nodded timidly.

…

…

…

"I l-like flower pressing," she said suddenly, voice a little louder and a little higher than usual, as if she was searching for something to fill the now dangerous silence.

"What for?"

"F-flowers are the m-most beautiful part of the plant that g-grows," Hinata stuttered. "I-it's the part that the plant looks most forward to when g-growing. B-because it's the s-shortest-living part, I want to cl-cling to it. Flower pressing helps me r-remember the flowers after they're done b-blooming."

Geniuses, Sasuke reminded himself, do not think too much about things. Flower-pressing involved only Hinata's love for flowers. Nothing else.

"M-my mother gave me my first pressed f-flower," Hinata confessed with a small smile.

"Huh?"

"S-she wanted me to know what a f-flower looked like," Hinata explained. "It was winter, and s-she wanted to show me how s-spring felt like."

Okay. So maybe Hinata really _did_ press flowers for the same reason he took walks-because they missed something they had at some point and lost. Maybe.

"…why?" Sasuke asked after a second or two.

"I'm sorry," Hinata explained.

"…'skay," Sasuke muttered.

* * *

"I like our team," Hinata confessed once her compound was in sight.

Sasuke turned and stared.

"I-Iruka-sensei hardly ever makes us work in a team. Th-this way f-feels less lonely," Hinata murmured with a blush.

"Together, you mean?" Sasuke managed to croak out. _Me…and Hinata._

"Y-yeah. I-I…well, I-I look up t-to Naruto. H-he's r-really nice and even if he's a f-failure, he still tries. Knowing h-he's trying his h-hardest, I wanna keep going t-too. H-he's really the nicest boy I k-know."

_The nicest boy. Naruto. The same Naruto that runs off and leaves me carrying a fainted Hinata while he says good-bye to Sakura. The same Naruto that thinks of her as 'dark and weird.' HE'S the nicest boy she knows._

It was as if cold water had been thrown in Sasuke's face.

Geniuses were always pragmatic. They had their feet planted firmly on the ground.

Uchiha Sasuke was cold-hearted and silent. He did _not_ talk to girls the way he just talked to Hinata.

Hyuuga Hinata was a weak girl who, no matter what, would always have a crush on Naruto.

Neither of them had any trouble with their families, and the moon that was shining on Hinata's face did _not _make her look mind-dizzyingly beautiful.

Once you pushed those lies aside, there was only the cold, bare truth:

He and Hinata had _nothing_ in common, and couldn't care less about each other.

Geniuses didn't waste time daydreaming or thinking about things too much. Geniuses weren't poetic.

As for the moon shining on Hinata's face, Sasuke thought as he left her at the gates without a word, it just looked like a weak yellow light on a girl that was just like any other.

Geniuses knew that every day-even this one-was still pretty much the same as any other day-that life was full of normal days.

This was just a normal day after all.

* * *

Author's Note: …yeah. Again. I apologize for the mushy-romance-drama-angst-general-Sasuke-ness of this chapter. I felt, that the entire Naruto-Hinata-Sasuke triangle, as fun as it is to write, would leave a few repercussions on the I-can't-deal-with-affectional-rejection Sasuke we all know.

And I know Naruto was portrayed in a bad light during the last part of this…sorry. I don't hate him, so I felt guilty for the three chapters of Naruto-bashing. At this point, though, he hasn't talked to Hinata yet, and he _did_ say post-Chuunin Exams that he'd always thought of Hinata as dark and weird…knowing Sasuke, I'm sure he's picked up on that…

Um, fortunately, I can promise you the next chapter will _not_ be this depressing. After all, this story has to have a semi-happy ending, right?

Next up: Story finale! Picnic scene!


	12. Special Day Finale

Chapter Title: _Special Day Finale_

Author's Note: An open-ended ending. Or so I hope, anyway.

Ah, some of you guys made me feel guilty about the last chapter...I promise that this ending's (hopefully) more happy and less depressing. As for the last chapter, I'm really sorry if the way I wrote Hinata came across as mean...but it is, after all, Sasuke we're talking about, and Hinata's not really the kind of girl who has romance naturally on the mind...the last part was meant to be a you're-my-friend-so-I'll-share-my-secret thing, not a blow-you-off-because-I-like-Naruto-better speech. Sasuke was just...overtly jealous. At least, that's what I meant to write. Sorry about that.

For those of you who wanted the story to go on a little while longer…well, I'm not planning on it, but hey, this story was also originally intended to be a one-shot too, and look at how that turned out. - That author's speech over, let's get on with the story.

* * *

It was important to understand the importance of clans in the ninja world. There were clans, and then there were _clans_. There was a huge difference, if you knew how to read the lines. 

Clans were ninja families that passed on jutsu developed gradually over decades, who had alliances and treaties that could affect the outcome of missions and battles.

_Clans_ were ninja families that shared century-old jutsu, century-old fighting styles, century-old scrolls. _Clans _were formed through centuries of power struggles, ideals, or betrayal, and the alliances and treaties of a _clan_ affected not only the outcome of missions and battles, but the welfare of the entire hidden village for years to come. Clan members were strong, no doubt about it.

_Clan_ members were expected to be stronger.

_Clan _members had naturally stronger muscles, naturally better chakra control. Naturally better overall immune systems.

"A-atchoo!"

One of the most humiliating things to happen to a _clan_ member was to have their immune system be beaten by something as petty as the common cold.

Then again, _this_ particular lonely clan member was no stranger to humiliation.

With a tiny sigh, Hyuuga Hinata admitted the inevitable. Two days after having gotten rid of her cold, she'd caught it again.

Hyuuga Hinata had a stuffy nose.

And on the day of the picnic too.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was a lot of things: genius, prodigy, member of the Uchiha clan, dark brooding Avenger. All of which, of course, meant different things: an almost perfect health record, a mysterious aura, mastering the Uchiha glare…in short, being multi-talented. Uchiha Sasuke never balked from the huge amount of rules and expectations that were demanded from him for being the genius, prodigy, and Uchiha Avenger he was. 

There was one rule-one expectation-that came from being all of them. No matter what, a genius (and a prodigy) (_and_ an Avenger) never ever _ever_ fell for anybody, much less a _girl_.

Girls were weird creatures. They smiled at you and made you feel like smiling back, and brought up their childhood memories just when you thought nothing in the world could make you feel _rotten_ again, and blushed in a way that made your insides feel all funny (and by funny, he meant sent-into-a-green-rage-and-wanting-to-beat-up-the-dumb-dobe-that-made-them-blush-in-the-first-place.)

Okay, so maybe girls weren't _really_ like that. But Hinata was. So while genius/prodigy/avengers weren't allowed to like girls, Sasuke thought, gripping the picnic basket in self-contained fury as he walked to the class picnic, they weren't allowed to like _Hyuuga Hinata_ either.

* * *

"Um…Sasuke?" 

"…"

"C-could you hand out de food?' Hinata asked a little bit nasally.

"No."

"B-but-"

"_No_."

"W-we need someone to hand it out wh-who won't make a-any unusual facial expressions w-when dey give someone de p-poison," Hinata explained.

"And?"

"A-and y-you're de best," Hinata added softly.

Well, that made sense, after all, Sasuke admitted reluctantly.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! Sorry I'm late, but my microwave got busted so I had to eat my ramen cold, only I couldn't find any, so-"

"T-that's alright, Naruto-k-kun. I-I'm just g-glad to see you're h-here. S-so, um...Sasuke. C-could you please hand out the food?"

"No. And quit bothering me," Sasuke said angrily.

"You're the one that's bothering us, you jerk!" Naruto growled.

Sasuke only blinked and walked away.

_Yeah, _he thought bitterly. _I've noticed._

* * *

"Hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto asked. 

"Y-yes?"

"Why don't you serve the food yourself?"

"I-I'm sick. I d-don't w-want to get anybody else s-sick."

"Okay. I'll serve it then! You just rest, okay, Hinata?"

"N-Naruto-kun...thank you."

Hinata smiled and, for no particular reason, wondered where Sasuke'd gone off to.

They _had_ used his compound to cook. And he had given her an honest critique to make food that really hid the poison well. He'd walked her home only to ensure her safety, and he'd talked to her then, even if it wasn't in his nature to. He had visited her when she was sick, and he'd liked her saffron…

Hinata had to admit it. Uchiha Sasuke was a _very_ nice boy. So even if she would have liked to have a little time alone with Naruto...

"B-byakugan!"

* * *

"U-um, Sasuke, please come down from dere." 

Sasuke blinked. Nobody had ever looked for him in _this_ tree before. How had she-oh.

"You didn't have to use your byakugan, you know," he said off-handedly. _Especially_, he mentally added, _since it drains the living heck out of you._

"I-it's your project too," Hinata stuttered. "Don't you want to see how it turns out?"

"Not really."

"P-please?"

_Uchiha non-talent #13: Saying no to a 'please' uttered by Hinata._

* * *

"Here. Don't worry about the food, Sakura-chan. I guarantee there's no poison in this one! I made sure of it!" Naruto said with a grin. 

Hinata gave a sigh, Iruka-sensei slapped himself on the forehead, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. So much for not giving away the food's condition.

"Here, Narutard, I'll serve the food," Sasuke said, shoving Naruto out of the way.

"I was doing a perfectly good job of-!"

"You want to go eat with Sakura, don't you?"

"Ergh! Fine! Hinata-chan, make sure Sasuke doesn't screw things up!"

"O-okay. U-um, see you later, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, obviously upset.

"Yeah, see ya. Hey, Sakura-chan, wait up!"

Sasuke had to wonder how big of an idiot the idiot really was.

* * *

"Hey, Hinata," Sasuke said stiffly as he served. 

"Y-yes?"

"What I said before. About the food. ..It's good." _Really good_, Sasuke thought, _the kind of food you'd never see in a restaurant…because it tastes like home_. Home meant a lot, to him.

"A-ah...thanks," Hinata nodded, face pink.

Apparently, the rest of his classmates agreed with Sasuke about the food.

Team 7 won the contest by a landslide, having poisoned a total of four boys, five girls, and Iruka-sensei himself.

* * *

By the end of it, Sasuke was ready to call it a day. It had been a _normal_ day-Sakura and Ino had chased after him, Sakura had insulted a doting Naruto, Hinata had smiled at him and smiled wider at Naruto. Not special in the least. 

"Um, Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"H-here," Hinata said, holding out the picnic basket.

"?"

"I-I thought you might like the l-leftovers."

"What, Naruto doesn't want them?" Sasuke asked, face expressionless.

"I already gave him the r-ramen," Hinata confessed with a smile.

"…"

"Sasuke?"

"…keep it yourself."

"B-but…I wanted to give it to you."

Sasuke scowled. "There's no need to give it to me because I helped out. I did it for the _grade_, after all."

"I-I know."

"Then why are you giving it to me?"

"B-because. Y-you're…I…"

Hinata blushed for the millionth time that day: not a Naruto-induced red, but the pale pink she always gave Sasuke-the kind he realized, he didn't mind getting.

"Y-you've been very n-nice to m-me. You're kind a-and don't mind it t-too much when I mess up. Y-you're…y-you're my _f-friend_."

Sasuke blinked at her. Idiot. No matter what, a genius (and a prodigy) (_and_ an Avenger) would never ever _ever_ like a _girl_.

He did NOT _like_ Hyuuga Hinata.

Without saying a word, Sasuke took the basket.

"T-tanks," Hinata thanked him.

_T-tanks, huh? _Sasuke blinked.

Just as quickly, he shoved the basket back into Hinata's arms.

* * *

Hinata blinked back tears as she felt her friendship gift returned with a violent shove. 

To her surprise, Sasuke stayed where he was, face concentrated in thought.

Fumbling around in his pockets, Sasuke pulled out a familiar medicine container.

Hinata blushed. "I-is that the o-ointment I gave-"

"It clears up stuffy noses," Sasuke explained patiently, as if she was a child and completely unexperienced with medicine, and had _not_ just given him said container four days earlier. He opened the container and held it out.

"T-thanks. I'll put it on r-right no…" Hinata trailed off as she saw Sasuke lean forward.

"U-um, I can put it on m-m-myself, if y-you just g-grab the basket f-for a second-" Hinata insisted, heat rising to her face.

"Quit fidgeting," Sasuke said calmly.

Hinata honestly tried to stop trembling. She really _did_.

With an impatient sigh, Sasuke's hand reached out to steady Hinata's face as he quickly and efficiently applied the ointment.

"There," he said, putting the ointment away and grabbing the basket.

"U-um…Sasuke?"

"?"

"…y-you were right. I-it _does_ t-tingle…an awful lot." Hinata babbled out. _More, in fact, than Hinata's brain remembered it was supposed to._

Sasuke's face looked slightly surprised before he turned and walked away.

* * *

No matter what, Sasuke reminded himself forcedly as he walked home, geniuses (and prodigies) (_and_ Avengers) never ever _ever _fell for _Hinata._

He looked down at the picnic basket and realized that, according to the amount of food that the group had prepared for the picnic, there was no way there could be _this_ much left. Hinata had cooked more, by herself after all. For _him. _Butterflies exploded in his chakra system and Sasuke gave his first involuntary truly red blush in ages.

No way. He, Uchiha Sasuke, did NOT _like_ Hyuuga Hinata.

But, looking down at his picnic basket, he thought in a very tiny voice, it might be…okay…

"Friends, huh?"

Uchiha Sasuke smiled.

Today had been a special day, after all.

* * *

Author's Note: I feel kinda awkward putting an author's note at the end. Then again, this is my first completed story that isn't a one-shot. I guess I'll just have to get used to it? -shrugs- 

In case anybody noticed, yes, this chapter was considerably longer. Just because it was the ending. You understand.

And _yes_, Hinata felt the same tingle Sasuke did in chapter 1 with the ointment. Feel free to interpret that any way you like. Besides, a "Hinata thinking of Sasuke as possibly more than a friend" moment was long overdue. :D

Um, seriously, though. I appreciate everyone who read this from beginning to end as well as those who just skipped through a chapter or two.

Even if the story's ended, please tell me what you think of the story and the ending (as always, I think it's terrible.) Everyone's reviews have helped me decide how to write the story, and I enjoyed all of them. So. What I really want to say is , um…

Thanks for reading. (:


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